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Monday, 13 June 2016

Monoliths - "Monoliths" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/07/2016

Label: Dry Cough Records |

Crown And
Throne Ltd

This self-titled
debut respects the crushing pedigree of the band’s constituent members while
heading into uncharted territory. Over the course of two 16 minute behemoths, Monoliths
create an absorbing world of bludgeoning repetition and psychedelic heaviness, fusing
a more exploratory approach with the filth and weight of the heaviest doom

“Monoliths” DD//LP track listing:

1). Perpetual
Motion

2). The
Omnipresence of Emptiness

The Review:

Few bands
live up to their name quite like Monoliths. Members of Ommadon, Bismuth and Moloch have combined to forge a collaboration
every bit as colossal as you might expect from some of the bleakest and
nastiest bands the UK
has to offer.

This
self-titled debut respects the crushing pedigree of the band’s constituent
members while heading into uncharted territory. Over the course of two 16
minute behemoths, Monoliths create an absorbing world of
bludgeoning repetition and psychedelic heaviness.

The aptly
titled “Perpetual Motion” opens
proceedings. The motion in question is an aggressive, sludgy trawl based on a
single riff that is in a constant state of flux. The band strike a perfect
balance between elegantly structured restraint and free jamming. Imagine a
lumbering, doom equivalent of Mike Vest’s space cadets, Blown Out, and you won’t be
disappointed.

“The Omnipresence of Emptiness” takes
the template of “Perpetual Motion”
and drags if further into the beyond. The track begins with a monumental riff
that sounds like all of Om’s
finest moments, played simultaneously at foundation-shaking volume. The
scratchy, urgent bursts of lead guitar, hinted at previously, are given free
reign here, blossoming into more grandiose swathes of noise as the track builds
in intensity. Carefully deployed vocals make an appearance too, guttural barks
and shrieks adding to the cacophony.

Monoliths
have crafted an intriguing debut here, fusing a more exploratory approach with
the filth and weight of the heaviest doom. Hopefully this
is just the start of their compelling journey into the charred pit of oblivion.

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